Method of and apparatus for repairing the ends of rails by the aluminothermic process



Nov. 16 1926. 1,607,118

. C. L. DELACHAUX METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR REPAIRING THE ENDS OFRAILS BY THE ALUMINO-THERM PROCESS Filed August 1923 INVENTORHISATTORNEY Patented Nov. 16, 192s.v

UNITED STATES PATENT FFIVCE.

CLARENCE L. DELACHAUX, OF GENNEVILLIERS, FRANCE.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR REPAIRING THE ENDS OF RAILS BY THE-ALUMTNOTHERMIO PROCESS.

Application filed August 15, 1923, Serial No. 657,524, and in FranceOctober 30, 192.2.

The invention relates to a novel method of and apparatus for repairingthe damaged and worn ends of railway rails and, more particularly, theworn tread surfaces of the rails adjacent the joints in the rails causedby the impact of the wheels passing over the breaks in the continuity ofthe rails at the joints; the worn sections of the rails being restoredto their normal condition and contour by means of molten 'steel appliedto such sections by the alumino-thermic welding process, the highlyheated molten steel serving to. fuse the surfaces of the railwith whichit is in contact and to merge and weld therewith to form a substantiallyhomogeneous union, the applied steel being substantially worked toproper shape and contour after it has cooled to a suflicient degreetopermit of such operation.

The application of the invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings in a which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a typical rail jointillustrating the characteristic wear and impairment of the rail ends dueto the passage of the wheels of trafiic over the joint. I

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the apparatus and the mode of applyingthe same in repairing and restoring the worn end of one of the rails.

Fig. 3 is a transverse the same.

It is a well known fact that the ends of railway rails, which are notconnected by rigid, welded joints, but are secured together by the usualtype of fish plates, splice bars, or the like, are separated byintervals of greater or less width which cause breaks in the continuityof the traction surfaces of treads of the rails which produce decidedshocks and jars whenever a wheel passes vertical section of over thejoint. This jarring effect soon be-v comes sufficiently strong to causethe wheels to rebound and engage the track some distance ahead in thedirection of travel with a severe hammer-like blow or concussion,

which tends to crush down and wear away the treads of the rails and formdepress1on"s,-

method, the same has been stock operating thereon and also the road bed.It therefore becomes necessar that these defects be eliminated, whiccanv usually be efi'ected by cutting off the dam aged section of therail, or by replacing the damaged rail by a new one. The first expedientis wholly unsatisfactory, as it means practically removing andreadjusting large sections of the track, and the other procedure isprohibitive since it involves the discarding of rails which areunserviceable only in a small fraction of their length, while theremaining portion of the rail is entirely serviceable. It has,therefore, been suggested and attempted heretofore to re pair the wornor impaired portions of the rail in situ and without disturbing thetrack structure. Among the other methods of repalr suggested has beenthat of rebuilding the worn sections or portions of the rail tread byelectrically welding steel thereto, but, owing to the uncertainty ofelectric welded joints of this character, the high degree of skill toproduce a satisfactory weld, and the slowness of the electric weldingpractically discarded as too expensive, if it is tobe thoroughly andefiiciently applied. The present invention, however, provides a methodfor rebuilding, restoring and repairing worn or damaged rail sections bythe apphcationof highly heated molten steel or the like to the impairedsection, by means of the aluminathermic casting and welding processwhich has proven simple and cheap in application andmaybe carried out byany intelligent workman without special skill or training.

The method aforesaid consists in adjusting and applying to the damagedrail a mold similar to that employed in effecting the alumino-thermicwelding of the rail joints, which will enclose the portion of the railto be repaired and restored. The mold is preferably formed of twosections 4 and 5 divided in a horizontal plane and adapted to be toosection, or slightly enlarged as to.,.s ize to per- 105 mit of a slightexcess of metal being applied to the rail section, which excess is su 1yworked down or machined off to bring the repaired rail into conformitywith its original size and contour. In case the rall to 11.0

sequent- 'be repaired is of the groove type, as illustrated in Fig. 3,the upper section of the mold is provided with a rib 6 which accu-"rately fits the groove in the rail and prevents access of the moltenmetal to said groove. Connected with the main cavity of the mold is apouring gate 9, leading to the top of the mold, and a riser 10, thesepasusual way and which produces a molten body 12 of superheated steel,which is delivered from the pouring opening of the crucible into thegate 9, whence the fluid steel passes downward into the main cavity ofthe mold and into contact with the impaired section of the rail andflows upward into the riser 10,'the level of the molten steel in theriser indicating when a suflicient uantity of steel has been supplied toefiect't e desired pur-' pose. It will be understood, of course, thatthe amount of superheated molten steel to be supplied will dependlargely upon the area and depth of the depression in the rail end to befilled and restored. After the necessary amount of-steel has beensupplied to effect the proper heatin and welding action between theapplied stee and the rail surface within the mold cavity, the pouringoperation is stopped and the mold allowed to stand until the steel hassolidified, after which the upper section of the mold is taken off, and,while the applied steel and the contacting surfaces of the rail arestill hot, the steel, which has been applied to the surface of the rail,is forged or worked by-means. of a sledge, or other-suitable means oroperation, untilit assumes the original form and contour of the rail.This working of the hqt steel also has the effect of refining andimproving the same and effecting a more complete and homogeneous unionbetween the alumino-thermic steel and the metal of the rail section. Therepaired rail is then per-- mitted to cool slowly, and is prevented fromchil ng unduly by the lower part of ,the mold, which is permitted toremain in place while the finishing operation, as herembefore described,is carried out. If found necessary, the repaired part maybe brought toany ultimate desired contour, corresponding with the original form ofthe rail, by filing or grinding away any surplus metal. Under certaincircumstances, it may be found sufiicient to permit the applied metal tocool sufliciently, then removethe entire mold'and reduce the appliedmetal to ultimate form by grinding, w thout any hammering or applied notonly reduces the amount of heat to be furnished by the alumino-thermicsteel,

'and, therefore, the quantity of steel required for the reaction, butalso facilitates the successful application of the hot metal by eliminating, at the initiation of the casting operation, the relativelyviolent reaction between the alumino-thermic steel and the metal of therail due to the high degree of heat im-' parted to the relatively coldrail by the superheated steel. By preheating the rail, as 'ndicated, hetemperature of the latter is raised gradually and all of theobjectionable ,effects of sudden and violent heating are obviated.

It will also be apparent that, by making additions of suitable metals tothe aluminathermic iron in the crucible, a metal of exactly the samechemical'composition as that of the rail ends may be obtained, so thatwhen the repairs'to the damaged or impaired sections of the rail havebeen made, the rail will berestored to its original condition, not onlyas to contour and shape, but also as to its metallic constituency. Forexample, suitable additions of carbon, silicon, manganese,chromium,'nickel, or titanium may be made to the alumino-thermicmixture, so as to bring the composition of the aluminothermie additionsto the impaired rail into 'exact consonance with the composition of theoriginal rail. This feature of the. method is of particular value andsignificance in view of the fact that it is extremely dflicult to efiectelectric welding by means of these various steel alloys, because it isnot feasible or economical to effect the repairs of damaged rails by theelectric welding method on account of the difliculty of form' ingelectrodes of certain of the steel alloys mentioned.

When themethod is carried out, as hereinbefore described, it'will be obvous that the worn and impaired section of the rail will be restored toits original character, both as to contour and composition, at a minimumof labor and expense.

What I claim is:

1. The method of repairing worn surfaces of ra ls, which comprisesenclosingthe rail at the place'to be repaired in a mold having a cavityofsubstantially the size and contour of the original rail section, saidcavity connecting with a pouring gate and a riser of relatively largesize to materially increase the volumetric capacity of the mold,supplying the mold with alumino-thermic steel to fill the cavity andconnecting passages with the highly heated molten steel and cause thelatter to fuse with the engaging surface of the rail, removing the mold,and working the hot steel application to the desired contour to restorethe impaired rail section.

2. The method of repairing worn surfaces of rails, which comprisesenclosing the rail at the place to be repaired in a mold having a cavityof substantially the size and contour of the original rail section, saidcavity connecting with a pouring gate and a riser of relatively largesize to materially increase the volumetric capacity of the mold,

preliminarily heating the rail at the section to be repaired, supplyingthe mold with alumino-thermic steel to fill the cavity and connectingpassages with the highly-heated molten steel and cause the latter tofuse with the engaging surface of the rail, removing the mold, andworking the hot steel application to the desired contour to restore theimpaired rail section.

3. Means for repairing worn surfaces of rails by alumino-thermic welds,comprising a mold in two separable sections adapted to be, clamped aboutthe rail section and having a cavity of substantially the size andcontour of the original rail section and a gate and riser of relativelylarge volumetric capacity to provide a surplus of superheatedalumino-thermic metal to heat the surface of the impaired rail sectionto the fusion point.

In testimony whereof I aflix mysignature.

C. DELACHAUX.

